Evangelist and civil rights leader Reverend Clay Evans founded the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois in 1958 and was the founding national board chairman of Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity, later changed to People United to Serve Humanity) in 1971. Rev. … Read MoreClay Evans (1925- )
Zadie Smith, writer and essayist, was born in the London, UK borough of Brent on October 25, 1975. Smith was named Sadie by her mother, a Jamaican immigrant who arrived in London in the late 1970s, and her English father. Smith enjoyed tap dancing as … Read MoreZadie Smith (1975- )
Suzette Charles (born Suzette De Gaetano), the second African American woman to hold the crown of Miss America, was born in Mays Landing, New Jersey on March 2, 1963. She is the daughter of Charles Gaetano, a businessman, and Suzette (Burroughs) Gaetano, a music teacher. … Read MoreSuzette Charles (1963- )
Ericka Dunlap, Miss America, 2004, is the seventh black woman to win the Miss America crown. She was born on December 29, 1981 in Orlando, Florida, the daughter of James and Fannie Dunlap. She is also the first black woman to win the Miss Florida … Read MoreEricka Dunlap (1981- )
Debbye Turner (Bell), the third African American woman to win the Miss America crown, was born on September 19, 1965 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She is an American veterinarian, talk show host, and former beauty queen. She was Miss America 1990. Bell is the daughter of … Read MoreDebbye Turner (1965- )
Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astronomer and astrophysicist and Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. Tyson was born on 5 October 1958 to Sunchita Feliciano Tyson and Cyril deGrasse Tyson, a sociologist who would later become active in … Read MoreNeil deGrasse Tyson (1958- )
The Miami Riot of 1980 was the first major race riot since the late 1960s. In December 1979, a number of white Miami-Dade (Florida) police officers were involved in a high-speed chase involving black motorist Arthur McDuffie. Police reports said that the chase ended when … Read MoreMiami (Liberty City) Riot, 1980
Alex Manly was editor of the Daily Record, a black newspaper from Wilmington, North Carolina at the time of the Wilmington Riot in 1898. Manly was born near Raleigh, North Carolina in 1866. He was reportedly a descendent of Governor Charles Manly and Corrine Manly, … Read MoreAlex Manly (1866-1944)
Maidie Norman, who appeared in more than 200 Hollywood films, was born in Georgia in 1912 to Louis and Lila Gamble. Her father was an engineer and her mother was a homemaker. Norman received a B.A. in Literature and Theatre Arts from Bennett College in … Read MoreMaidie Norman (1912-1998)
The Detroit Riot of 1943 lasted only about 24 hours from 10:30 on June 20 to 11:00 p.m. on June 21; nonetheless it was considered one of the worst riots during the World War II era. Several contributing factors revolved around police brutality and the … Read MoreDetroit Race Riot (1943)
